In this article, aligned with International Women’s Day, Soumita Das, Creative Director – Copy, ADK India, highlights the biases women face in leadership, the need for supportive workplace policies, and the importance of moving beyond token gestures to implement real, systemic change. Her message is a call to action for individuals, organizations, and governments to move beyond mere acknowledgment and take tangible steps toward true gender equality.
It’s a world of Numbers. We love counting everything, steps, social media likes, number of wins. And when it comes to gender equality, we count women. “Look,30% of our workforce is female!” “We have a woman on the board now!”, “We hired three women this quarter!”
Sounds great on papers, and in the yearly presentation. But here’s the thing, counting women is not the same as creating equality. It’s like calling a toddler a chef because they stirred the dosa batter. Representation is important, but what happens after women enter the workforce? Are they given the same opportunities, the same pay, the same respect and empathy? That’s where the real question lies that needs to be not only addressed but acted upon.
As someone who has spent years being a part of leadership roles in male-dominated workspaces, I’ve seen firsthand how deep the cracks in the system run. For the last few years, my team has always been predominantly female, let’s say about 90% at one point. And that was enough to make people nervous and for all the wrong reasons. One of the senior leadership members from one of my former organisations had once asked me to suggest a creative designer who is best to work on a luxury brand brief. To which I had replied with a female colleague’s name and had added that she will be back to work from her maternity leave before the project begins so there won’t be a need to hire any new member. And the reply I got from him left me speechless for a second. “You need to hire more men, because, what if the women decide to have families or get married? What would we do?” Let’s pause for a moment. Imagine someone telling a male leader, “Your team has too many men. What if they all take paternity leave at the same time?” Bizarre, right? But when it comes to women, their competence is often measured against their potential personal life situations.
And getting a seat at the table? That’s another battlefield altogether. I had to work ten times harder than my male counterparts to prove that I deserved to be there. While my male colleagues could rely on perception, I had to bring receipts, official proof of every success. And even when I got that seat, I saw firsthand how some men hesitated to collaborate with women in leadership roles. As if we had somehow cheated our way into the room.
So no, diversity reports and gender ratios don’t tell the full story. Action does. And we need more of it. While people think they have addressed gender equality, what most fail to understand is that simply acknowledging the issue isn’t enough. The real step is taking action and implementing result-oriented solutions.
Many organisations love to showcase their “commitment” to gender equality, just enough to look good, but not enough to create real change. Here’s what they won’t do, implement policies that ensure women have equal access to leadership opportunities, address biases that make it harder for women to be promoted or even understand their health concerns and add just about a bit of empathy to help them navigate through work efficiently.
But I wasn’t willing to wait for leadership to get its act together. So in one of my previous firms, where a lot of my colleagues from different department failed to get the understanding they needed from their supervisors, I started an initiative- CODE RED, a community for female employees in my organisation. When a woman had severe period cramps, hot flashes, migraines or any other health issues, we divided her workload among the rest of us so she could get proper rest, without the fear of being seen as “weak” or “unreliable.” We built the kind of support system that should have existed in the first place.
Because here’s the truth, if companies won’t take care of their female employees, women will take care of each other. But why should we have to?
Not everyone is getting it wrong. Some organisations and countries have moved beyond lip service and into real action. They are walking the talk for sure and setting examples with game-changing policies that create real, measurable results. So, the question is, If some companies and countries can do it, why can’t everyone else?
The need of the hour is to stop focusing on problems and start talking solutions. Fixing gender inequality isn’t about waiting for some grand revolution. Change needs to happen at different levels, personal, organisational, and governmental.
Gender equality starts with each of us. Speak up when you see bias, whether it’s a woman being interrupted or her ideas being overlooked. Support and mentor women instead of competing for limited spots, and remember that equality begins at home by sharing responsibilities. Companies must move beyond statements to real action, eliminating pay gaps, fixing leadership pipelines, and ensuring work-life balance for all. This includes recognising women’s health as a workplace priority, offering menstrual leave, better maternal health policies, and support for menopause and reproductive health. Gender bias training should be more than a formality; it should be tied to accountability and performance. But even the best efforts fall short without policy. Governments must enforce pay transparency, mandate anti-discrimination policies, and incentivise gender-balanced leadership.
Real change isn’t about counting women in the room, it’s about ensuring they thrive once they’re there. It’s time to stop talking and start acting.
(Views are personal)
